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This was an interesting section in Thrifty Cooking for Wartime. Fat. No, not the kind of fat you’re thinking of. We’re talking about leftover fat during cooking. Of course, it could have led to body fat if food wasn’t rationed and the cooks had modern day appliances.

Leftover fat or drippings

Keep it in three different containers.

1. Bacon, sausage, ham, and salt pork
2. Beef, fresh pork, chicken, and goose
3.  Lamb and mutton

The fats  in the first  container can be used to fry potatoes, omelets, liver and onions. Add to split pea or potato soup. A few tablespoons can be added to a pot of beans as a substitute for meat. It  can also be used for gravies and as a substitute for butter in white sauce.

When cooking green beans, peas and greens, lift the vegetables from the juices. Thicken juices with a little paste made with flour and water. Stir until thick; add 1-2 tablespoons drippings to one cup thickened liquid, salt and pepper and add a dash of nutmeg or mace. Pour over vegetables. A few drops of lemon or vinegar can be added.

From the second container: Fats can be used in mashed or creamed potatoes. Use in cream sauce for creamed chicken. They’re also good in scalloped potatoes. Of course, you can use them for frying. Leftover fats may also be used for pastry crusts, cakes or biscuits by sweetening with 1/2 teaspoon soda to one cup fat.

Third container fats can be used fr frying lamb hash or patties and for making lamb gravy. If these fats become rancid, heat and fry a few pieces of raw potato until brown, drain and place in a clean container.

In the next installment of wartime recipes we’ll be looking at some breakfast ideas.

All Scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for restoration and for training in righteousness, so that the person belonging to God may be capable, fully equipped for every good deed.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

While cleaning out a drawer a couple days ago I found some notes that I as a new bride had copied from a library book. The book was Thrifty Cooking for Wartime by Alice B. Winn-Smith. I thought I would share them with you. Today I’ll share what I wrote down about almond flavoring and bread.

First the almond flavoring

Save peach, plum and apricot pits; when they are dry enough to handle, crack the pits and save the meats by spreading them in a warm place to dry. Pound to a pulp or grind in a food chopper. Keep any unused in a tightly covered container in a dry warm place.

Now the bread

It should be kept in a dry, almost airtight container in a warm, dry place. Quick cooling prevents mold. If bread shows the least sign of mold, cut in slices and spread to dry in a warm place. If you have a slow oven for baking, place thin slices in a shallow baking pan and when they are thoroughly dry and crisp use them for melba toast.

Try sprinkling leftover toast with a little grated cheese; place under broiler until cheese is melted; cut into strips and serve with salad and fruit dessert.

Separate the sweet and plain dried breads. When thoroughly dry, run them through the food chopper or roll them into fine crumbs. Store in dry containers in a warm dry place. Cover tops with cheesecloth tied down tightly. Do not seal too tightly, or they will become rancid. Use the sweeter crumbs for puddings, etc.

Bet your mother never passed along these tips, but maybe some grandmothers remembers these kinds of things happening in kitchens during WWII. This book was published in 1942. Next week I’ll share some more interesting things from this book.

See that picture up there? That man is holding a flounder. There are so many authors, journalists and especially bloggers who don’t have a clue. I would presume that the word floundering means fishing for flounder. Logical, right? That’s what always pops into my head when I see that word.

Then why are so many people fishing in all kinds of situations? I think they would more likely be foundering. This is why I think writers need to know what they are talking about. They really should know the difference between a noun and a verb.

Merriam-Webster says:

Definition of FLOUNDER
noun floun·der \?flau?n-d?r\

: a type of fish that has a flat body and that is eaten as food

plural flounder or flounders

Full Definition of FLOUNDER
:  flatfish; especially :  a marine fish of either of two families (Pleuronectidae and Bothidae) that include important food fishes

founder
noun found·er \?fau?n-d?r\

Definition of FOUNDER
:  one that founds or establishes
: to experience failure : to be unsuccessful
of a boat or ship : to fill with water and sink

Full Definition of FOUNDER

intransitive verb

1:  to become disabled; especially :  to go lame
2:  to give way :  collapse
3:  to become submerged :  sink
4:  to come to grief :  fail

transitive verb

:  to disable (an animal) especially by excessive feeding

So, now are you going to founder or be a flounder?

It seems that I haven’t been making any seams. I moved to a smaller place on the island, and have just flat out been busy unpacking boxes rather than doing any sewing. Oops! Just remembered that I did some mending on a couple of Consumer Man’s scrubs. Almost forgot that since it’s been awhile. In fact it’s been so long that I now have another set of his scrubs reclining across the top of my sewing machine. I guess that’s a hint.

Since September is National Sewing Month, I guess it’s a good time to rev up my machine and get back into action. Yes, you just heard a big sigh. I’m going to have to start with mending.

It’s so much more fun to start from scratch and make something new. Except for the cutting out part. I always do better if I make myself cut out several projects at once since I really don’t much care for that part of sewing. Do any of you all have that same dislike? Or do you have a different part of the process that bugs you?

But understand this, that in the last days hard times will come – for people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, hardhearted, unforgiving, backbiting, without self-control, brutal, hating what is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to an outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people!

2 Timothy 3:1-5

Amish Values for Your Family

By Suzanne Woods Fisher

Award-winning author Suzanne Woods Fisher inspires readers to slow down and understand the values that help build a strong family in Amish Values for Your Family. Studies are finding some alarming trends in the daily life of modern families -family time is a vanishing commodity. Compared to thirty years ago, today’s parents spend 40% less time with their children. This decline coincides with the rise in internet use, the popularity with social networks, and the swell of children’s organized sports and activities. What is competing for your family time? Who is winning?

The Amish have maintained one of the strongest and most stable family systems in America. Harvard School of Medicine recently found that Amish people have a lower rate of heart disease than do average Americans as well as lower rates of cancer. Could their simple way of life, hard work, and value of family contribute to a healthier way of life? And, if so, how is it possible to incorporate some principles of the Amish into a modern family without “goin’ Amish?”

In Amish Values for Your Family, Fisher shows how you can adopt the wisdom of the Amish when it comes to family matters. In this inspiring and practical book, readers will find true stories interlaced with solid, biblical advice about parenting, marriage, and all aspects of family life – without selling your car, changing your wardrobe, or moving to the Amish countryside. Readers will learn to prioritize what’s truly important, simplify decision-making, slow down as a family, safeguard time together, and letting go when the time comes

ISLAND BREEZES

I’ve been drawn to the simple life of the Amish for a long time now. Even though I’m not going to become Amish, I still feel a deep connection.

We can learn so much from Amish values. I’m grateful for this book which both rounds up the values and teaches us how to apply them to our non-Amish lives.

The “Read, Read, Read” chapter stood out for me as I (as well as the rest of my family) love to read.

I think that we as a family need to direct our children away from the overpowering distraction of technology. We need to focus more on the wonders of our world, as well as it’s Creator.

The first section reminds us that Amish children are loved but not adored. Now doesn’t that bring things into proper perspective?

Two more things about this book that I appreciate are the sections that tell us how to “get there from here” and the Amish proverbs. There are so many that spoke to me, but I will only leave you with one. You’ll have to get your own book to read the rest.

Keeping a neat house is like threading beads on a string with no knot on it.

***A special thank you to the author for providing a review copy***

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of The Choice, The Waiting, The Search, and Anna’s Crossing, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, W. D. Benedict, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Benedict eventually became publisher of Christianity Today magazine. She lives in California. To learn more about Suzanne visit her at suzannewoodsfisher.com

While there you can download a free Amish Wisdom app.

September 11, 2001

Last Chance Hero

By Cathleen Armstrong

What happens when your heart is intercepted before you even know it’s in play?

The folks in Last Chance, New Mexico, could not be more pleased. Dr. Jessica MacLeod has opened an office right on Main Street and Andy Ryan, the best athlete the little town ever produced, has come home from the NFL to coach the high school football team. Unfortunately, Dr. Jess immediately gets off on the wrong foot with this football-obsessed town when she admits that she’s never seen a football game, isn’t really interested in doing so, and in fact doesn’t know a first down from a goalpost.

Despite having little in common, Jess and Andy find themselves drawn to each other. But when a disagreement over the future of an injured player puts them both on the defensive, it begins to look like this game is over . . .

ISLAND BREEZES

Another visit to Last Chance, New Mexico. There’s a new doc in a town obsessed by football. She could care less about the game. In fact, she doesn’t know the first thing about football.

Andy, a former NFL player prior to an injury, is back in town as the new high school football coach. He and Dr.Jessica get along just fine for awhile. Then she not only sidelines one of his best players due to injury, but also encourages him to give his college aspirations a higher priority in his life.

Is that enough to drive the new doc out of town? It’s certain to mess with any possible relationship between Jessica and Andy.

Thank you, Ms Armstrong, for giving us another chance to revisit Last Chance. I certainly hope this is not the last book in your A Place to Call Home series. I really like this little town and its people.

***A special thank you to Revell for providing a review copy.***

Cathleen Armstrong lives in Orange County, California, with her husband, Ed, and their corgi. Though she has been in California for many years now, her roots remain deep in New Mexico. Her debut novel Welcome to Last Chance won the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award for Women’s Fiction. She is also the author of One More Last Chance and At Home in Last Chance. Learn more at www.cathleenarmstrong.com.

The Mistress of Tall Acre

By Laura Frantz

There can be only one mistress of Tall Acre . . .

The American Revolution is finally over, and Sophie Menzies is starved for good news. When her nearest neighbor, General Seamus Ogilvy, finally comes home to Tall Acre, she hopes it is a sign of better days to come. But the general is now a widower with a small daughter in desperate need of a mother. Nearly destitute, Sophie agrees to marry Seamus and become the mistress of Tall Acre in what seems a safe, sensible arrangement. But when a woman from the general’s past returns without warning, the ties that bind this fledgling family together will be strained to the utmost. When all is said and done, who will be the rightful mistress of Tall Acre?

Triumph and tragedy, loyalty and betrayal–you will find it all in the rich pages of this newest novel from the talented pen of Laura Frantz.

ISLAND BREEZES

The war is now over, but where does that leave Sophie? Her father is a turn coat; her brother is missing and she’s hungry.

When her neighbor, General Seamus Ogilvy, returns he has no news of her brother. But he does have a small, motherless daughter, Lily Cate. Lily Cate and Sophie fall in love with each other. Maybe Sophie is beginning to fall a bit in love with Seamus as well.

Sophie is in danger of losing her home, and Seamus needs a mother for Lily Cate. Need I say more? A marriage of convenience ensues,and the three of them begin forming a nice little family.

 
That is, until another woman shows up on their doorstep and threatens to break up home and family. It’s hard to see any happy ending here.

 
Thank you, Ms Frantz, for keeping my hopes alive in the midst of tragedy and betrayal.

***A special thank you to Revell for providing a review copy.***

Laura Frantz is a Christy Award finalist and the author of several books, including The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Colonel’s Lady, and the Ballantyne Legacy series. She lives and writes in a log cabin in the heart of Kentucky. Learn more at www.laurafrantz.net.